"It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling. I love democracy... I love the Republic. The fact that this crisis is demanding I be given absolute power to rule over you is evident. But I am mild by nature and have no desire to destroy the democratic process. The power you give me I will lay down when this crisis has abated, I promise you. And all I ask in return is when my current term of office is over, you allow me to retire and live out my life in peace."

That said, I don't think they're actually socialists -- I think they just have no plan, no clue what to do (nor have I, to be fair), and are scrambling for whatever might possibly work. That said, it's risible for Obama to try and pretend that his inclination is for a "light touch" -- the pretense is belied by his every action. Hypocrisy, though, is the tribute that vice pays to virtue, and if the idea of the "light touch" survives Obama, even if only as a hollow declamation from our dear, vainglorious leader, well, that will be better than nothing.

Good luck with that, Obama. Intentions without real results don't mean as much to the rest of us as they do your enthusiasts. That's why the GOP lost last time around. They told us "we want to reduce government!", while they did exactly the opposite.

Maguro said... Why can't Obama defend his policies on their own merits rather than deflecting blame by dumping on his predecessor?

Beyond that, it's unseemly and rude for Obama to blame all the world's problems (literaly) on Bush, when Bush continues to go out of his way to take the traditional post-presidency aproach to not speak ill of his successor or his policies.

He's doing too much. He's not doing enough. He's a heavy handed thug. He's a light handed pussy. He wants to talk to Iran. He won't talk to Iran. He's the same as Bush with the military. He's total different than Bush with the military. etc etc etc.

Obama's role is that of the professional undertaker for dead capitalism and he is showing his concern to the family while he sells them a 5 trillion dollar casket and opens up the grave for it. He needs to use his famous serious and light touch at such a time. But if the body shows any sign of coming back to life, that is when Obama's heavy hands appear around its throat squeezing out any resurgence of inconvenient capitalism..

He's let his people run wild, yes, but he's neglected to do a lot of things, e.g. have his appointees vetted, and staff Treasury. You can do a lot, and neglect to do the things that you actually ought to do.

He's a heavy handed thug. He's a light handed pussy.

It's hard to phrase this effectively, but I think he's a terribly weak personality, prone to getting smacked around by stronger, more domineering personalities (e.g. Nancy Pelosi, Dick Cheney.) His tendency to jump in with his proposed policy before actually thinking through the details (e.g. on Guantanamo) or simply outsource all the meaningful details to Congress (e.g. the stimulus, now healthcare reform) has not helped him in this regard.

At the same time, though, his administration is full of tough people (e.g. Rahm Emanuel). And Obama's own instinct when challenged is to lash out. The aggregate effect is one of viciousness mixed with pusillanimity.

Remember, you have to believe the opposite of whatever His administration says.

So, yes, they are socialists, and no, he never intended to have a light touch.

The One (PBUH) makes so much more sense when you just assume he's lying.

That's not really a partisan statement either. His supporters use the same logic. "He's really a supporter of gay marriage even though he just said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman; he's just saying that to assuage all those ignoramuses on the Other Side."

Maguro said... Why can't Obama defend his policies on their own merits rather than deflecting blame by dumping on his predecessor?

Beyond that, it's unseemly and rude for Obama to blame all the world's problems (literaly) on Bush, when Bush continues to go out of his way to take the traditional post-presidency aproach to not speak ill of his successor or his policies.

I think that Balfegor is pretty close. I think the answer to his suggestion of Obama's personal weakness is that I think his fatal flaw is wanting to be liked. He comes across to me like the kid who is always sucking up to everyone, telling them what they want to hear. And then, as Balfegor points out, all those strong egos around him push him to do what they want him to, regardless of what he has said.

But if Balfegor and I are anywhere close to being right, then I would suspect that the Presidency is immensely stressful for him right now. He is repeatedly being ground between that rock and the hard place. And the job is stressful enough without that.

Kumbaya for sure; I'd put the compromised Ways and Means on hold and wait on SEC writing new code per derivation and currency. Kick it over to Financial Services. Frank may be dumb but he's not, as far as I know, dirty. Leave taxes be and I wouldn't budget based on projections, either way they're made. Do what you've got to do and maybe cut the capital gains rate a tad. We need cash flow in some blighted domestic locales. Soon. Otherwise it's the next Congress, as it should be.

I think Balfegor and Bruce Hayden are both somewhat right, but I think there's a touch of the Dick Nixon in Obama -- the ability to lie to everybody with a perfectly straight face because he's continuously lying to himself.

traditionalguy - Obama takes the time to think before talking, something we haven't seen for the past 8 years with King George.

Just look at the insane comments here relating to what Obama should have said or done after the Iranian election.

Many of the people in the Mideast already think we're nothing more than imperialistic intruders, yet most here think he should immediately condemn or step into the fray.

That's not what real thinking leaders do.

If most here would take the time to "think" before posting it would be one hell of a lot more interesting. As it is, it's nothing more than a launching pad for the wingnuts to cry about literally ANYTHING Obama says or does.

It's almost like an internet extension of Fox News....but you just don't get to see who the idiots are who are posting.

Big Mike said..."I think Balfegor and Bruce Hayden are both somewhat right, but I think there's a touch of the Dick Nixon in Obama -- the ability to lie to everybody with a perfectly straight face because he's continuously lying to himself."

After eight years of non-stop lies and distortions from Bush and Dick (and I do mean "Dick")...it really takes an idiot to make such a statement.

Jeremy...I believe that Obama has a plan, and that plan obviously includes a nuclear armed Iran under Ahmadinegad's control (bad ass Iran). Obama needs bad ass Iran for something. Otherwise he would be assisting Ahmadinegad's rivals that won the election(good Iran). That would create for Thinker Obama the Crisis he needs to force an overall Peace Settlement into the area that Israel could not easily refuse to accept. It makes you wonder if Obama has already set a date for this to happen, like the character Haman did during a previous try in Persia.

I understand the constant denigration of President Obama via Ann...who likes to represent herself an some kind of independent, even though everybody knows she's really a conservative...but why no blaring headlines about things like this?

A day after he admitted to an extramarital affair, Sen. John Ensign has stepped down as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the Associated Press and others are reporting.

This, an asshole who repesented himself as the ultimate morality judge when Clinton was under attack, and even one of his own; Craig.

There has to be something more than a Senator having an affair. You named a lot of famous ones, so that might make a difference. If there was something funny or sleazy about it, I might talk about it. Frankly, those Republican Congressmen all blend together. I'm just not interested.

Ann - Are you actually saying that if any of the Senators I mentioned, took to the podium demanding a sitting President resign over an infidelity or another Senator resign over a similar offense...and then got caught doing the same thing...you'd brush it off as just another Senator having an affair?

Ann - By the way: Ensign was head of the Republican Policy Committee, a member of the Christian ministry Promise Keepers and has championed causes pushed by the GOP's conservative religious base while seeking to raise his political profile for a possible presidential campaign.

"Are you actually saying that if any of the Senators I mentioned, took to the podium demanding a sitting President resign over an infidelity or another Senator resign over a similar offense...and then got caught doing the same thing...you'd brush it off as just another Senator having an affair?"

If I read the story, I might blog it. In the case of Ensign, I'd never heard of him and I had better things to do than to read the story and notice any interesting aspects of it. Can't compare it to the situation where I do read the story.

Ann - My point is this: You run blaring headlines or snarky inuendos relating to everything anti-Obama, designed to stir the pot among the locals.

But if you're really an independent, and not just another conservative blogger...why so little if anything related to things like Cantor comparing Obama to Putin?

Newt saying those who aren't good Christians are pagans?

Rush constantly saying Americans have to bend over and grab their ankles?

Racist Republicans comparing Michelle to a gorilla.

The Republican aide sending out emails with Obama as a spook.Or how about this: Republicans throwing out a counter to Obama's health care plan based on a four-page plan that didn't include how much it would cost, how it would be paid for or how many people it would cover.

"Jeremy said...traditionalguy - Obama takes the time to think before talking, something we haven't seen for the past 8 years with King George."

ROFLMAO!!! Obama is such a deep thinker that he needs a teleprompter to tell him what to say! Even when he has TOTUS in front of him, his mind is so disengaged that he reads other people's lines. What a genius! Without it, he free associates or gets stuck in uh-land.

GDubya did not have a golden tongue, but he could answer a question without the teleprompter; he could make a joke that was actually funny (nobody could accuse the Idiot Savant of that (he can read as if he means it—if he tries!). GDubya could hold forth sensibly. The golden-tongued Idiot Savant can't do that. "Mommy, can I sleep with my teleprompter?"

Obama has to be a total liar, or have either no sense of irony or a total lack of consciousness of his ideological underpinnings, his Chicago bully-boy training, and his power-hungriness to make such a statement as "I think the irony...is that I actually would like to see a relatively light touch when it comes to the government."

He's an Alinskyite, that means he isn't unconscious but operates with a dastardly plan. Thus it is most likely that he is both a liar and without a sense of irony—just like he's without a sense of humor.

"Mark said..."Well, there's a school of thought on the Left that Clinton was DINO...""

I can verify that. At the time of the 1992, Wisconsin primary, I remember talking with a bunch of people trying to figure out who -- ie, which Democrat -- to vote for and I was going down the list. I summarily rejected Clinton with the line "Clinton is a Republican." That got an appreciative laugh. Everyone knew what that meant. He didn't even belong on the list of candidates to be considered.